Hotel Roemer

All guests receive complimentary welcome drinks.

GUESTS STAYING AT Hotel Roemer get more than just a plum location yards from Amsterdam's lush Vondelpark. This 18th century Dutch mansion is now a stylish little boutique hotel just minutes from the city's famous museum quarter.

Behind its classic Dutch façade, Hotel Roemer is all about cool decadence – 21st century style. You can’t miss the bold and sassy outsize Dolly Parton print in the lobby, the monochrome artworks or the cool little cocktail bar complete with retro brown leather armchairs and cowhide rugs, lit by a cheery fireplace on chilly days.

Drinks at this hospitable Amsterdam hotel (not to mention a tasty assortment of nibbles) come with full compliments of the house from five every evening. Just make yourselves at home here with a dram or two – though was home ever quite as sleek as this?

Continue past the bar and you’ll find the Roemer’s next treat – a Zen like terrace and secluded rear garden, complete with a pond and resident ducklings. It’s the perfect place to enjoy drinks and eats on a summer’s day.

Techno treats

Sleek and chic bedrooms are compact but packed with techno treats – and we wouldn’t blame you for simply hanging up the Do Not Disturb sign to unwind in your designer surrounds.

You’ll find an iPod dock, Nespresso coffee maker, flatscreen TV and DVD player, plus a well stocked (and complimentary) minibar. Bathrooms come with walk-in rain showers, granite basins and – in bigger rooms – jet stream baths with a telly you can watch while soaking under the suds. Tactile textures, interesting artworks and huge chrome retro lamps load on the style.

Rooms at the rear have balconies overlooking the garden, while the Roemer’s junior suites – two loft style and one opening on to the garden – have huge jacuzzi baths and double showers, too. Beds are suitably big, though you may find two duvets instead of one. They’ve thought of everything, and the gadgetry even includes multiple electrical sockets handily configured for any kind of plug.

You’re in a great location here, in a quiet and leafy residential neighbourhood close to Amsterdam’s Vondelpark (the city’s equivalent to Hyde Park), where you can mingle with dog walkers, roller bladers and Amsterdammers at play. You’re also just 100 yards from lively Leidensplein, with its bars and shops.

Guests at the Roemer can look forward to a good start-the-day breakfast in the little breakfast room, overlooking the pretty courtyard. You may need to wait for a table on a busy day. Relaxed, friendly and obliging staff add to the feelgood factor at this high-end Amsterdam boutique hotel.